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Jose Gargenis Vasquez-Rosa of the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to illegally voting in Michigan as a non-citizen in the 2020 election and to lying on an application for a U.S. passport.
In 2002, Vasquez-Rosa applied for a visa to come to the U.S. as the spouse of a U.S. citizen but was denied after authorities determined the relationship was fraudulent, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
In 2016, Vasquez-Rosa, who was illegally living in Michigan, assumed the identity of a Puerto Rican man and applied for a Michigan driver’s license. At the same time, he registered to vote.
Using the fraudulent identity, he voted in person in the 2018 election and again in 2020 by absentee ballot. He was only charged for voting illegally in 2020.
In 2020, he also submitted a passport application using the same fraudulent identity. The Department of State detected the fraud and rejected the request.
He faces up to 10 years in prison.
“American citizens paid for the right to vote with their blood,” said Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in a statement. “This illegal alien lied to get into our country and stole that right. And we won’t let criminals undermine our elections.”
